Very, very interesting thread.

Here is a very interesting discussion of gender roles, division of household labor, etc. prompted by a FlyLady e-mail that went out earlier in the week.  It seems I'm not the only one squicked out by some of the assumptions made.  ;^)

FlyLady Days 11 and 12

I'm compressing again, for much the same reason that I did last time.  The task for Day 11 is to add and inspirational page to your control journal.  Pardon me while I hurl.  Ok, I'm done now.  It's not my personal journal; I'm not about to leave my diary sitting out on the kitchen counter for everyone to read.

(Insert "Public and Private in the Blogosphere" reference here.  Yes, I'm aware of what I just said and how it relates to my dissertation.  Yegods, can I NEVER get away from it?  Ah well, such is the life of a blogging academic who blogs about being an academic and blogging while they research blogging.  Ouch.  That hurt.)

On Day 12, we are told to delete all mail messages from the FlyLady.  But!  But!  But!  If I delete them, I'll never achieve my goal of filling up my GMail account!  But! 

Oh, fine.

*deletes*

:^D

Fantastic quote...

"Being alive is a bit like being on fire."
Joel Achenbach, "Taking a Metabolic Time-Out". Science, National Geographic, July 2006.

Adventures in Urban Life

When I left to go run some errands at about 2, there was a raptor of some kind with a freshly-killed squirrel in his talons in our back yard. I was about 10 feet from him when I noticed him - certainly the closest I've ever been to a bird of prey in the wild. We watched each other for a minute and then I said to him, "Got a snack there? Ok, well, please don't leave it in my yard."

An hour later, I came home to find him in the next-door neighbor's front yard. I jumped out of the car and ran in to get the camera. When I started to approach him to get a shot, he took off, but landed just across the street. Once there, he was willing to let me approach (again, to within about 10 feet) and take a bunch of shots.

( And here they are... )

Watching him watch me was pretty intense... he's beautiful, and there's just something very wild about a bird of prey with their catch in their talons, staring you down.

Urgh

We must leave for the airport at unreasonable-o'clock tomorrow morning, to go to Tucson for a wedding.  And the crap in my chest just. won't. go. away.  I broke down and bought some Mucinex this afternoon, per Mom's recommendation (she's had an icky bronchitis this week).  Just in the past hour or so, suddenly all my energy has disappeared, and I can FEEL the crap moving around in there, but can't get it up.  Here's hoping the Mucinex is all it's cracked up to be.  (I did just now hack something up, but I also just took the stuff 10 minutes ago, so there's no way it's working yet.)

Anyway, I may or may not be online later tonight.  I've got to finish packing (all the stuff I can't pack 'til TRex is in bed, like her toothbrushes (both of them), my various toiletries, etc.), and I want to get to bed early.  Tomorrow's going to be a VERY long day - we need to leave for the airport around 5; we land in Tucson at 1pm Mountain Time (3 pm here) and then there's a "dressy casual" (whatever the heck that means) rehearsal dinner to go to tomorrow night (not that either of us is in the wedding, but might-as-well-be-family are invited).  I shall wear grey slacks, a shiny blue shirt, and my black slingbacks.  TRex shall wear a cute blue skirt and a pink shirt with a coral/salmon cardigan.

See y'all when we get back.  Don't burn down the Internet while I'm gone.